We The Kings
by Collective Misconceptions
Summary: A great part of her was glad that soon she would no longer be on Earth but living in the great expanses of space aboard the Warped Callipso, and the new colonizing planet Prospect.
1. Chapter 1

They didn't care whether she believed in the war or not. All they cared about was that she did her job right as a field medic. The rapid sound of gun fire and exploding grenades resounded all around her, momentarily stealing her senses as she ran across the battle field to one of the wounded. She wobbled slightly but kept going, her feet heavy as she ran. Adrenalin pumped through her system with every step, every breath she took, pushing her forward when she knew under normal circumstances she would have fallen flat on her face from exhaustion. She moved over the rocky terrain as quickly as her feet would take her till she came upon him. He lay on his back, his left hand clasped tightly at his side just above the hip. Dropping down to her knees beside him and pulling her pack off in one smooth motion. With little effort she batted his hand away and pulled his shirt up to expose the wound. The solider gave a stifled groan of pain as she inspected the wound or rather wounds she found. Deep incisions and puncture wounds lined and criss-crossed his side. She frowned as she pulled gauze and medical tape from her pack and patched up his wounds as best she could. She didn't have the necessary supplies or time to tend to him properly so she did what she could. Stopped most of the bleeding and wrapped the wounds.

"Don't worry," she said as she patted his shoulder, yelling slightly so he could hear. "You'll live."

She didn't stay to hear a response. She didn't have the time; others required her attention as well. She was up and running, hunched over slightly in an attempt to make herself unseen. Which was foolish really but it gave the woman a level of comfort that she needed on the battle field; though, after hours of tending wounded and fighting herself she was exhausted and weary. The battle field resembled a brawl more that a fight between two nations. A battle that had no real meaning.

She ran on nothing but adrenalin as she made her way from one fallen to the next, doing what she could with the supplies she had. Some she could help, others she could not.

She pushed herself to move faster, her muscles screaming in protest as the adrenalin in her system began to fade. Heaving breaths, heavy limbs and exhaustion slowed her as she dropped next to a wounded soldier. With tired limbs she dropped her bag next to her as she leaned over to get a better look at her patient. It took her tired brain far too long for her liking to realize that the man who she now inspected was part of her platoon: Private Jose Adam Culcek. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked him over. His side and belly had been torn apart by shrapnel, his innards visible as they threatened to spill out of his body that seemed to only be held in by a strip of flesh. He was looking at her then, and the look on his face made her want to cry. His eyes were clouded with pain and something she couldn't quite place. Acceptance? She wasn't sure, but it didn't sit right with her. It made her chest hurt and the feeling threatened her to tears.

"That…you, Kid?" His voice rang out loud and clear despite the background noise.

She could barely formulate a response as she looked at him. "Yeah…" Her voice broke and shook as she spoke. "It's me."

She had never seen someone in her platoon get hurt let alone die. They seemed invincible. They were strong and cunning when on marches. Careful and collected under fire. No one ever got hurt it seemed, and if they did it was never anything major. Seeing Jones broken and dying shattered her in a way she couldn't even begin to express. She saw death like this in every battle however, it was different seeing someone you knew dying.

"You're….still k-kickin'," he slowly said, breath labored. "That's g-good…kid."

His body gave a violent shudder as he fell into a fit of coughing. Blood poured from his mid-section as well as sliding down his chin, dripping off his jaw. A surge of panic went through her, causing her to tightly grip the medical supplies and quickly push the gauze against his mangled side.

"I'm gonna help you out. Okay," she said in a shaky voice, quickly pulling out a shot of Morphine. It would put him under, though, in his weakened state, he would never open his eyes again. He would forever be in a dream, floating in his personal heaven. That thought certainly didn't soothe her. The thought of losing him brought about a great feeling of hurt that she couldn't possibly comprehend. Jose was a funny guy, loveable even though he had a knack for saying things at the wrong time. She placed her hand on his shoulder, using her other hand to push his dirty hair to the side. In a way she was finally beginning to fully understand, it was different tending to a comrade on Death's door opposed to someone she didn't know. The emotional attachment was there while, with an unknown face, there was none.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to mourn for Jose. A hand grenade went off far too close for comfort, and without a second thought, she was up and running. She stifled a sob as she sought out refuge behind the nearest sandbag pile a good twenty feet away; a perilous run with your back to the enemy. A tingling pinch in her spine forced her to fun faster despite her tired legs that felt like lead weights. In her mind, the trek was much longer than it was in all actuality. The world seemed to move in slow motion, wobbling back and forth before she rounded the side of the sandbag barrier and hunkered down next to another that took safety behind the makeshift wall.

The solder beside her was hunched over slightly, panting as he held his Pulse Rifle to his chest as though it was a life preserver of some kind. She had been in plenty of small skirmishes, seeing people die and killing people herself was something one just got used to after a while. People often thought of how cruel it was to not feel anything when you took another's life, but when you have a military assault rifle firing in your direction you don't feel much pity for the person on the other end. Yet, obviously it wasn't like everyone could stand it. Being fired at, seeing people fall dead and killing had a tendency to make them crazy. It broke them. Poor kid was probably already traumatized, on his way to a plain he likely would never come back from sane. She contemplated trying to comfort him in some fashion, hesitating, unsure. She began to reach over to him and stopped short of touching his shoulder. A voice in the back of her head screamed in protest, saying that coming into the slightest contact with him would cause her to crumble. A pang of guilt coursed through her; however, she didn't feel the need to question it.

So she didn't.

There was no way to really tell how long she and the kid solider sat there behind their simple cover, with him cowering like a puppy and her just sitting there like she was in a complete daze. When her mind snapped back to where she was, she noted the battlefield was unusually silent. Nothing but the sound of heavy foot falls and the occasional cry for help could be heard. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion as her lips pulled into a thin line. Slowly, she pushed herself to her knees and turned, facing the sand bags. Just as carefully, she peaked over the top and saw her side's victory. The enemy army had retreated, surrendering. She was surprised, to say the least. From the number of injured and dead she had seen strewn along the fighting grounds, she believed the enemy had a high chance of winning. What made them surrender?

She shook her head as she turned back around and sat, leaning against the sandbags, letting herself relax. She let out a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes. For how long she sat there, she didn't know; though, when she opened her eyes the solder that was her temporary companion was gone. Others were sweeping the field, tending the wounded and gathering the personal belongings of the dead to be sent to their loved ones. The cries for medics in the air made her realize that she couldn't rest her limbs or mind any longer, that she was very much needed. She stood on legs that felt like limp noodles, forcing herself to jog over to one of the hurt soldiers, beginning to tend to whatever injuries they had. She helped many more after that until the sun dipped below the horizon, and eventually she ran out of medical supplies. Nonetheless, she offered herself to be of assistance wherever it was needed, like getting people onto transports that would take them to the base. This lasted late into the next morning before she herself felt she could do no more.

The flight back to the base was a long one filled with groans of pain, coughing, and bad jokes. Not much of a conversationalist, she leaned back and zoned out. She needed a moment to get away from the things around her and even her own thoughts. So she let her mind drift, relishing the small amount of time to just sit back and drown in her own private silence.

* * *

They called it a war, but it was more of a skirmish, or at the very least that's how she saw it. A big and deadly one but a skirmish, nonetheless. It was nothing more but four parties duking it out because they thought their way was the right way. She scoffed at that and how foolish they had been. Lives were lost because of a useless power struggle that was doomed to fail from the very beginning. Of course, pig-headed politicians didn't know that, or they refused to believe the chance that they would fall to the stronger powerhouse they aimed to take down. A great part of her was glad that soon she would no longer be on Earth but living in the great expanses of space for fifteen months on the _Warped Calisto_, then transported to the military corps to a new settlement planet that was named _Prospect_ by the man who funded the whole operation.

Charles Bishop Weyland.


	2. Chapter 2

She hadn't gone to Jose's funeral.

A deep unsettling feeling would settle in her belly when she thought of going and it would burn when she looked at the envelope that now sat on the small dining room table of her apartment. She stared at it for hours when she first received it. Hesitant to open it knowing what was inside. It sat there on the dining table for three days before she mustered up the nerve to open it. She looked over the details slowly then shoved the card back into the envelope and threw it back onto the table.

She wouldn't go she decided almost immediately. She just couldn't bring herself to go. She had already mourned for him in her own way. Not only that but the thought of seeing him dead, skin with a pasty sheen to it made her wont to cry. That was not the Jose she wanted to remember.

She was sure he would understand.

* * *

Ranil had never seen anything quite as big as the _Warped Callisto_. The biggest vessel she had ever been on was a military transport and compared to the colony vessel in front of her it was nothing but a toy in comparison. She stood by the boarding platform for a good couple minutes just looking up at the behemoth. Though, that was a Waylen-Yutani funded vessel for you. Huge and over the top in every way. She had no doubt that the inside was just as ridiculous as the outside. Slowly she adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder as she began her trek up the boarding plat form. One inside she made her way through the check in which reminded her of when she got her driver's license with the silly questions like what's your eye color, contacts or glasses. From there she and the other military persons were herded to an auditorium on the high levels of the _Warped Callisto_ to be briefed.

She sighed as she shoved her bag under the seat she sat on looking up at the stage as she did so. A tall man well into his thirties stood straight with his arms behind his back in front of the podium. A rather pleased look on his face as people continued to pour into the auditorium. A Waylen-Yutani spokesmen no doubt though she didn't see why he was there when the man himself, Charles Bishop Waylend, was sitting but a couple feet away…Maybe not then. It wasn't much longer -about ten minutes- before the doors were closed and the room fell completely silent.

"Welcome!" The voice was so sudden it made Ranil jump in her seat.

Charles Bishop Waylend the owner stood. A broad smile painted his face.

"You have all signed up for a most important position. The continued protection of the Colonists on _Prospect_ is a vital task that has been assigned to you all. To protect them you will need to know what you will be protecting them from. The native animals are brutes. Very territorial and don't have the sense of fear instilled in them that predators of Earth do. It is your job to protect the Civilians till they do." He said looking over the crowd of Military. "Now I will hand this over to Doctor Dolance Rezwon."

Waylend nodded to the man at the podium as he sat. Dolance moved then from the podium to the far right of the stage in a slow leasurly pace. Arms behind his back.

"I am Dolance Rezwon as Mr. Waylend said. I am one of the many that have researched Prospects native species since colonizing started began two years ago. Right now it is my job to inform you of the dangers that they are and how to effectively protect others and yourself." As he spoke the lights dimmed and a picture began to materialize behind him. "First I will go over the ones you will need to look out for at all times..."

She stopped listening to most of what he said after the second picture became clear on screen. All she needed to know was how to take them down and if they had some sort of natural poison she needed to be wary of. Not the creatures personality and bone structure. Ridiculous.

She could see many felt the same. The guy in front of her feel asleep with in the first half-hour.

Now that was just sad.

She didn't know how long Dolance talked but she was glad when he finished his speech. Handing over the podium Waylend gave a grand end speech then they were dismissed. Ranil waited till the auditorium was mostly empty till she herself left. Finding where she needed to go was simple. Six levels down was the military sec. where all military was to report to their rooms to become acquainted with their new squad. She would admit she was a bit nervous. Her team would probably be made up of a bunch of roudy young Marines out to make aname for them self or something of the like and she didn't much like the though. She hoped her platoon was full of more seasoned fighters. Not some cocky young blood ready to fire his pistol at any moving shadow.

'_What are you worrying about? You're just meeting some new faces._' She thought to herself trying to calm her nerves. '_No worries They'll be.._.'

What? Great, fantastic, all you might have imagined?

Sighing she ran her hand through her short mahogany colored hair. Nervously she made her way down the hall to her 'Barrack's' where she would meet her team. As well as be in Crio for most of the trip from what she under stood. The halls looked much the same with nothing but numbers on the doors and walls to distinguish where you were and maybe a picture or two but not much else.

KM-320 was painted black on the metal door. Her destination. Ranil stood there for a good minute calming her nerves as wiped hand sweaty hands on her pants. Sighing she quickly slid her access key that gave a beep and the door she stood in front of slid open with a hiss. A sigh of relief left her as she saw no one. Quickly she moved into the room dropping her things next to the closest Crio Pod.

One word to describe them was loud. Conversation was a constant with her new platoon. Not once it seemed for the whole week aboard the warped Callisto had been docked before heading out for Prospect was it quite with them. At first Ranil felt a bit overwhelming by them. Not just the talking and cruel joking but just how dominant their personalities were. The fact that they all got along was a mystery in itself. Though it was obvious that there was a limit to what could be said and done to one another. Her new Russian friend Diederich Petroy made that very clear when he pummeled Randy Covack down a couple pegs for something he said. She wasn't quite sure exactly what was said between the two but next thing everyone knew Diederich and all his 6"9', two hundred plus pounds of muscle had Randy pinned on his back cursing like a sailor as his fist hit Randy's face like a sledge hammer. He hit him a good two more times before it seemed to register with everyone what was happening. Then the whole room it seemed was in movement.

The first to reach them was Silvica, the team's albino android who grabbed Diederich by the shoulders and threw him across the room and from the looks of it with little effort on her part. Just as quick he was up on his feet, a feral look on his face. A string of curses in his native tongue followed in quick succession as he glared at silvica who was in a crouched defensive stance, prepared should Petroy decided to retaliate for whatever reason. Randys good friend David Sovet was standing over him amused and laughing. He was tall and lanky. Ranil dubbed him the red head step child of the group because of his hair. He laughed at her when she told him shrugged his shoulders and took it as a compliment. Which she wasn't sure if she meant it to be taken that way. Off in the corner of the room was Andy Rodane, arms crossed glaring at the two in disproval. She was an intimidating woman. Ranil had been more than just a little scared of her. Tall with dark skin, cool blue eyes, silent, and imposing. A force, she learned, to be reckoned with.

Of to her right was Steve Wildens. Her new teams Platoon leader. He was by far the loudest out of all of them and he was already off on a tirade. Yelling at the three for being a bunch of idiot and how they better hurry there asses over to the medic bay and back. Grudgingly the two made their way out the door as it slid closed with a hiss. Laughter filled the room and she glanced over at the last of her squad. Melany Redants was bowed over slightly laughing like seeing the two reprimanded was the funniest thing on earth. There wasn't much to be said about her. Ranil got the feeling that she thought she was all that and a bag of chips. She may have been kind of drop dead gorgeous but that didn't mean much in the military of at the very least that's what Ranil though. Though they got along well enough.

* * *

"So newbie what do y'ah think?" Andy questioned as she stood beside her Crio pod in full military gear.

Sighing Ranil adjusted her gear. "Not sure…" she replied slowly. "Why full gear? Do they intend to send us out immediately after landing?"

A shrug of her shoulders was her answer. A frown settled on her face as she glanced at the others. Full gear, grumbling to one another about the inconvenience of it.

"These Crio pods are small enough as is." David wined out in frustration. Ranil half expected him to stomp his foot.

"Could be worse you now." Randy said with a smile on his face, wincing slightly because of the bruising. "They could have made us get into these things naked!" He added glancing over at Melany who promptly flipped him off.

"I don't know if I like the sound of that." David replied. "I'm not very fond of the thought of seeing the serge naked."

Ranil couldn't help herself from laughing at that along with the others it seemed. Diederich who rarely cracked a smile was chuckling at that one. Wildens gave a deadly glare in their direction, lips pulled into a thin line. Seconds later the room fell quiet one more.

They stood there in relative silence for a few more minutes before the door slid open and a middle aged woman walked in. She looked at them all each in turn. Checking things off on the chart she'd brought in with her. In a rare instance she asked a question and once answered she moved on. The inspection of them all took less than ten minutes and the woman took her place by the door. From there she explained how crio worked and when they would be woken up. The whole trip would take fifteen months and they wouldn't be awake for it.

"Now please lay within the crio pod and I will take care of the rest." She said as she walked over to the left by the door where the main computer sat.

Slowly she pulled herself into the crio pod and tried to situate herself once lying down. Fidgeting her legs in discomfort she looked over at the woman who oddly hadn't even given a name and she didn't even have a name tag. Something about that didn't sit well with her. It made her stomach twist painfully as a numb sensation settled in her legs. Quickly she forced any unpleasant thoughts away and closed her eyes, focused her mind on every breath she took.

'No point in worrying yourself now over something so Pointless.' She grumbled to herself as the crio pod closed and locked with a loud clack and hiss.


	3. Chapter 3

The planet Prospect was hot; ungodly so, she wasn't sure if she would be capable of getting used to it. The planet had seven moon and three suns giving the planet a wonky day and night schedule. She found it tended to change daily; the hours between day and night ranging from hours to minutes. The native species were huge though the word did the beasts no sort of justice. Everyone on base was weary of them even though they were big, Slow, meandering creatures, or at the very least the ones she had seen. That was just it though. The ones she had seen. What about the creatures she heard at night? The high pitched keening wails that couldn't and just didn't come from the behemoths she had set eyes on. A scientist, Adam Servs, had told her they were there but damn near impossible to see or catch. That posed a problem for her and her squad. How could they protect these people from something they didn't know anything about, let alone seen? David had told her they had only seen one small creature, compared to the roaming giants. It was dark blue with purple accents and he said it looked vaguely like a deer but with sharp teeth, reptile like skin, claws, and heavily muscled. He had said he had only seen it one, the thing had ran the moment it saw him and his team looking its way. He went on to explain how he wished they had caught it so they could run some tests on the thing.

Sometime she wondered if he was in the right mind.

Corking a brow she looked at her scientist friend in question. How they became friends though she herself didn't know.

"Swear the thing is biologically one of the most fascinating things I have ever seen. Ranil you must see it!" He exclaimed exasperated. "A doctor like yourself would love to see it. Six hearts Ranil! It's amazing! Not to mention its digestive track." His eyes lit up as he went on and Ranil couldn't find a nice way to say human anatomy was more her thing.

"Maybe, but I doubt I can. Science wing is off limits to me remember." Though, her question was more of a statement than anything. It was known, a rule really, that if you weren't assigned there than your ass better not be there.

He gave her a sideways look at that. "I'm head of the since department here. I can get you in." He stated matter-a-factly. A cocky smile pulled at his lips.

She laughed a little and shook her head. He just couldn't get a clue could he? Though that wasn't so bad compared to the things her platoon said about the two of them. She told them her and the scientist were just friends, nothing more and even though she knew they said outrageous things in a joking manner, she didn't like it. The only one who didn't say anything was Silvica. and Ranil got the feeling Melany made jokes to spite her for whatever reason, there was just a little more of a sharp edge when she said her piece. Most of the time she just let it go but recently she was having trouble.

* * *

Inner city had started construction a few years after Prospect had been found and colonized with scientists and army personnel. It began with Fort Servitude, a small research facility, which now operated as the colonies Head of Research and Development. Most of the things going on there, she found, was a mystery. They had all their dealings under wraps. People outside the circle weren't told jack shit. Even her scientist friend wondered. She would admit that she thought about it as well. What did they do there? Adam said a whole bunch of crack pot shit when he found her during her and the platoons off days. Crazy stuff like human DNA splicing. Most of the time she would roll her eyes at him, and tell him how crazy he sounded. Of course he would shake it off and swear on his life that's what they were doing.

Though after knowing him for almost two years she was more than sure Adam was of his rocker.

* * *

Sweat dripped down the side of her face. The heat was intense outside, more so than usual, and it was even worse in full gear. Randy was up ahead about three feet to her right, Slivica to her left with Andy and the boss in front with Melany, and David bringing up the rear. Something had tripped the alarm and they and about three other squads had been sent out to investigate. So far they hadn't seen or heard anything. One of prospects massive suns was seating as they made their trek. The crunching of foliage beneath their feet was all she could here, Randy clicking his guns safety off for some reason, and the most obnoxious sound of Steve Wildens chewing his gum. The pop and squish noises he made had her cringing, and gritting her teeth in annoyance. A crackling hiss from the com in her ear distracted her slightly as they went.

"See anything Demo Squad?" The voice was deep and gruff and who it was she couldn't say.

Serge was of course the first to answer. "Not a thing," Irritation laced hos every word. "Why the hell did they send out so many people." He snapped at the man over the com.

"It's procedure." Was the man's calm reply.

That just seemed to make Wildens even angrier. "Fucking stupid…" The communications officer gave no reply to that.

"Let's just get this over with." Andy grumbled from her position near the front.

* * *

If you listened real close you could hear it.

The clatter of chains and the shrieking of the Queen.

Canter knew the day they found her and captured her down to the very millisecond. Staring through the one way glass he smiled. I t had been sheer luck that they had found her, still molting into the next stage of life, and they had jumped at the opportunity to have her. To examine her.

"How is our beautiful lady doing today?"

The ebony beast gave a shrill high pitched screech in answer. Throwing her head back in rage she struggled against her restraints. But it was effort and energy foolishly spent. Her constraints held her firmly in place, immobile. The only part of her that wasn't pinned in place was her head. She craned her crowned head forward, muscles taut, she pulled her lips back in a snarl, drool pooling from her clenched teeth onto the floor below as she struggled in vain to break free from her iron prison; they gave an ominous groan in protest as she writhed in rage, screeching in utter fury. Canter got the feeling that despite the one way class she could see him. Some found that unnerving but he found it fascinating. A smile tugged at his lips as he looked at her. There was still so much they had yet to learn about her kind and now that she produced eggs they had all the time, and specimens to learn all they needed and desired.

* * *

Whatever had tripped the alarm was long gone and they all knew it but the head honchos running the show insisted they keep looking. The first sun had set hours ago and despite two other suns high in the sky it was rather dark. There was nothing close to the facility, _Runners Pride_, and Wildens had no problems letting them and the communications guy know he thought it was bullshit keeping them out there. From her position toward the back Ranil frowned slightly as she trudged along with her platoon, listening to Wildens angry ranting as they went. The two best friends in the back adding fuel to the fire that was Steve's rage. Adjusting her hold on her pulse rifle slightly she raked her eyes across green foliage. Wasn't like there was much else on Prospect. Whatever had tripped the alarm was long gone, and everyone knew it. Higher ups probably wanted them to bring something back so as to justify the six hours they had spent looking for whatever it was that freaked the sensors out.

As it was, there wasn't a damn thing.

* * *

**Sorry its not the long, and I don't think its all that good but eh, I have been having a lot of trouble writing this. And there were a lot of things I wanted to put in but when I started to write them they didnt turn out so well. lol Hopefully the next chapter will be better. **

**constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.**


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